The last year has been hard on New Jersey as 59 percent of voters say they are worse off
financially than they were one year ago, with 20 percent saying they're better off and 20 percent
saying things are the same, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. A total of 55
percent of voters describe their personal finances as "excellent" or "good," while 43 percent say
their finances are "not so good" or "poor."

And only 28 percent expect their personal finances to get better in the next year, while 22
percent expect them to get worse and 45 percent say things won't change, the independent
Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

But the economy will get better by the end of President-elect Barack Obama's first term,
66 percent believe. That includes 41 percent of Republican voters, 86 percent of percent of
Democrats and 64 percent of independent voters. When New Jersey voters are asked how long it
will take to solve the nation's economic crisis:

2 percent say one year;

12 percent say two years;

10 percent say three years;

12 percent say four years;

11 percent say five years;

14 percent say eight years;

10 percent say 10 years.

"The economic picture in New Jersey is bleak: six in 10 voters say they are worse off
financially than a year ago; even more are worried about their retirement; more than half say they
have lost 'a lot' of money in their retirement plan; 41 percent are worried about losing their jobs
and most plan to spend less this holiday season," said Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the
Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"While only about a quarter think things will be better next year, there is broad optimism
the Obama administration will be able to fix the nation's economic problems. More than a third
say recovery will come in President-elect Obama's first term while about another third say it will
take two terms. Almost 20 percent say recovery will take 10 years or more," Richards added.

Among the 62 percent of New Jersey voters working full or part time, 41 percent are "very
worried" or "somewhat worried" about losing their job. Other concerns are:

65 percent are worried about having enough money to live on when they retire;

Of the 92 percent who have health care coverage, 35 percent are worried about losing it;

Of the 74 percent who own their home, 20 percent are worried about losing it.
Also because of the economy:

58 percent of voters plan to spend less on holiday gifts;

42 percent of those who haven't retired plan to delay their retirement.

From November 13 - 17, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,020 New Jersey registered
voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion
surveys in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and nationally as a
public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.

20. Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as:
Excellent, good, not so good, or poor?

27. (If working full or part time q26) Because of what's going on in the economy
today, how worried are you about losing your job - Very worried, somewhat worried,
not too worried, or not worried at all?

39. Because of what's going on in the economy today, how worried are you that
you will not have enough money to live on in retirement - Very worried, somewhat
worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?